


Sincerity

by Robin Hood (kjack89)



Series: Birthdays [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Drabble, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/Robin%20Hood
Summary: “Am I right, Counselor?”“Yes,”  Barba said simply. “You’re right.”





	Sincerity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AHumanFemale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHumanFemale/gifts).



> I debated over whether to post this on AO3 or not because it is _so_ short, but I decided to anyway because I just don't care.
> 
> For the incredible AHumanFemale's birthday - happy birthday!!
> 
> Usual disclaimer. Please be kind and tip your fanfic writers in the form of comments and/or kudos!

“Am I right, Counselor?” **  
**

Carisi didn’t deliver the words like the challenge they sometimes were, or the desperate attempt at validation or recognition or whatever from Barba that they otherwise tended to be. It had been a long day, and he was tired, and the Lieu and Chief Dodds were standing behind him in the bullpen and for once, Carisi just wanted to make sure that what he remembered from his night classes was correct.

Barba’s eyes met his, his lips curling into that patented Barba half-smirk, and Carisi sighed, mentally preparing for the derision-laden ‘seldom’ or ‘rarely’ that was certain to be coming his way.

“Yes,”  Barba said simply. “You’re right.”

Carisi was so surprised that he lost the entire thread of the conversation for the next two minutes after that. Barba’s snark and sarcasm had become an almost welcome distraction that layered every conversation they had ever had, and sincerity sounded weird coming out of Barba’s mouth.

Especially sincerity aimed at Carisi.

The conversation came to a seemingly abrupt end and Carisi blinked as Olivia and Dodds returned to her office and Barba took off towards the elevator. He hesitated, knowing that he should go back to his desk and keep working, but the weirdness from Barba couldn’t go unaddressed. So instead he jogged after Barba, calling, “Hey, Counselor, wait a second.”

Barba looked surprised when Carisi followed him into the elevator. “Detective,” he said, curiosity plain in his expression. “Something else on the case that you need me for?”

“No, uh, not for the case,” Carisi said, fumbling with whatever he was trying to say. After a cringeworthy moment of silence, he blurted, “Is something wrong?”

If anything, Barba looked even more surprised than before, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”

Carisi shrugged. “You just — you never miss an opportunity to insult me. So when you just, uh—” He waved a vague hand. “—when you just agreed with me like that, I figured something had to be wrong.”

Barba’s confusion was replaced by something more like calculation. “So, to verify, you believe that something is wrong because I _didn’t_ insult you?”

Carisi blushed because when Barba put it in those terms in that tone of voice, it sounded pathetic. Frankly, it _was_ pathetic, but it was also the closest thing they had to a friendship. “Well, you know, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright,” he muttered. “You could be running a fever or something.”

“Or something,” Barba murmured, though his expression softened for just a moment. “I’m feeling fine, Carisi.” He paused. “Of course, had I known what a hit your self-esteem would take by my not insulting you…”

“My self-esteem is just fine,” Carisi shot back, though he also smiled, feeling a little relieved that Barba’s momentary lack of willingness to insult him seemed to be past. “If anything, it’s your sense of humor that’s the problem.”

Barba rolled his eyes as the elevator doors opened. “My sense of humor is exquisite,” he told Carisi with his usual smirk as he stepped out of the elevator and turned back to face him. “Have a good night, Detective. Try not to jeopardize my already very shaky case any more than usual.”

It was Carisi’s turn to roll his eyes and he jabbed at the button in the elevator. “Oh, and Carisi?” Carisi’s hand shot out to stop the elevator doors from closing. Barba’s smirk had softened into a smile as he told him, “Happy birthday.”

Carisi stared at him, shocked, until the elevator doors closed in his face.

Had he — had Barba really—

Suddenly, Barba’s simple agreement with him in front of Olivia and Dodds was anything but simple, and Carisi felt a strange warmth spread across his chest. That Barba choosing not be a dick for once should make him feel anything was in and of itself absurd, but Carisi was too busy grinning like an idiot to care.

Barba had known it was his birthday. Barba had been deliberately nice to him because it was his birthday.

Maybe there was hope for them after all.

By the time Carisi made it back upstairs, his idiotic grin had softened into something much more sweet, and his smile didn’t disappear until well into the night, even as he spent all of his 36th birthday at work.


End file.
